> I am working to configure X on an old (slow, RAM-limited) > box. ... I have been reading some WM reviews, trying to > decide which to try out here. Obviously I want something > trim. Naturally I don't want to sacrifice much functionality. > Which WM's do you think are lightweight but still supply > the tools you need to work effectively? Which features do > you like and why?
There's a family of what I call "middleweight" window managers, all of them are reasonably fast & can provide most of the features of the big guys except for embedding (ORB stuff): AfterStep, WindowMaker, and Fvwm2 all fit in this category. All of them can be themed, but none of them have anything like a theme manager -- you go in & edit their config files. I like AfterStep (www.afterstep.org) myself. I've used it on a 6100/66, and it was very responsive. It has a nice set of applets that run out of the Wharf (dock), and can use applets for WindowMaker as well. The Wharf also makes a good launcher for the apps you use regularly, and can swallow apps like xload or xeyes that can use small display windows. The "start" button is your entire desktop (I put occasional-use items in the start menu) and the default start menu lets you make some basic style changes (widget look/feel, wallpaper, etc.). For more serious configuration, there's an "ascp" utility that provides a GUI to the Wharf, menus, Pager, and other config files. The pager is handy, but can get in the way (although if you keep it small you can tuck it into the Wharf). The default is a rather silly four desktops, each of which is as big as four screens. I cut that back to a single four-screen desktop. One of the things I miss from KDE is the "click this to mount the CDROM & open a Konq window for it" icon. I'm hacking on asmount when I have time for it (not much lately) -- I have the functionality down, but there's something seriously flaky going on that I haven't figured out yet. On my old laptop, I use Fvwm2 because it was there. It's a bit more basic than AfterStep in some ways. > I have installed Blackbox and iceWM already... The current issue of Linux Productivity mag (split off from Troubleshooting Professional) is dedicated to using ICEwm: http://www.troubleshooters.com/lpm/200209/200209.htm -- Larry Kollar, Senior Technical Writer, ARRIS "Content creators are the engine that drives value in the information life cycle." -- Barry Schaeffer, on XML-Doc -- MaX-list is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... / Buy books, CDs, videos, and more from Amazon.com \ / <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/lowendmac> \ Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> MaX-list info: <http://lowendmac.com/linux/max.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/max-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
